By George!

The big brass came out and the WW II vets rolled on in with their wheelchairs, walkers, and some hooked up to their oxygen tanks. No matter what, they were going to be there come Hell or high water. They traveled from all over our country and nothing would have kept these heroes away from this celebration. Dec 7 could not have been a more appropriate date to hold the Grand Opening Celebration for the George H.W. Bush Gallery at the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas.

The vets were out in full force to witness history as the 41st president of the United States, George H.W. Bush cut the red ribbon at the grand opening celebration for the new $15.5 million, 33,000 square foot gallery named in his honor.

I’ve never been in the presence of so many brave heroes at one time before. It was truly an honor to be amongst this distinguished crowd of vets on Pearl Harbor Day and witness history in the making. It was a full house with standing room only for about eight thousand folks outside on a cold, damp, dreary day winter day.

The fog was so bad, that the elite Golden Knights Army Parachute Team jump had to be canceled at the last minute. The foggy conditions also caused some problems for a couple of VIPs. President Bush’s plane was late and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison was a last-minute no-show from Washington. Now folks, tell me. Isn’t it just good old common sense to fly in the night before when you have an early morning event? Duh?

Barbara looked classy in her chic black and white tweed jacket with a cowl collar. The exaggerated collar must have been hiding her signature strand of pearls. I got a kick out of watching Barbara up on the podium, every so often she would pull out her shiny red Point and Shoot camera and snap a few shots of the crowd and the band then quickly tuck it back into her purse. The Prez is now using a cane to get around, but is still as handsome as ever. Speakers Gov. Rick Perry and Marine Commandant General James T. Conway were well received by the patriotic crowd.

President Bush asked all of the vets to stand up to be recognized by the crowd. WW II vets, Pearl Harbor survivors, Korea vets, Vietnam vets, and Desert Storm vets all stood proudly as the crowd cheered and the vets saluted the President. Some of the vets sported ponytails while others were clean-shaven.

It’s not often you get a chance to be with these men and woman who are true heroes and part of the greatest generation of Americans that ever lived. These vets are tough, patriotic, know the meaning of sacrifice, stood up to the bat when their nation called, and never made excuses. They rolled up their sleeves and did what needed to be done without ever complaining or tooting their own horn. A million thanks to these vets who we owe our precious freedom to.

Take 89 year old W.E. Cook, a Pearl Harbor survivor who was onboard the USS West Virginia when it took a hit. Cook said he was down below deck shaving and getting ready to go ashore when he said all Hell let loose and he heard over the intercom, “Man your stations, this is no drill!” that’s when he knew it was for real and time to haul. Cook saved several of his buddies along the way.

I felt a sense of sadness with the realization that the number of WW II vets is dwindling and that this celebration may be their last big hoorah for many of these vets present at the ceremony. Yet, I was pleased to see them rejoicing and sharing war stories with one another and most importantly having the opportunity to partake in this special day of recognition.

Talk about community spirit and cooperation; half of Fredericksburg’s residents were on hand volunteering at the opening ceremony and took part in this mega-event. Several of the speakers sited the success of the partnership between the private and the public sector. And a special thanks to the generosity of The Dian Graves Owen Foundation for underwriting the Grand Opening ceremonies to the tune of shelling out $150,000. It was a massive job to pull this off………hat’s off to all who were part of the event!

After the official opening ceremonies guided tours of the new George H.W. Bush Gallery were conducted by volunteers. Guests were given timed tickets for 45 minute whirlwind tours of the gallery with no time for lingering. We paraded through in groups of 25 with Marine Gunnery Sergeant Scott Crossen from Goodfellow AFB bringing up the troops from the rear and keeping our group of 25 moving at a fast clip. The tour was just enough to get a taste and see some of the highlights.

High tech, interactive state of the art exhibitions with illuminated and animated were quite impressive and told the story of the War of the Pacific. Museum highlights include the 2-man Japanese HA-19 sub, a B-25 bomber, 3-D rubber map used for the invasion of Iwo Jima, 3,500 oral histories, and clips of the surrender aboard the USS Missouri. A small display dedicated to legendary Flying Tiger Tex Hill from San Antonio featured his leather bomber jacket, pistol, goggles and scarf. I knew Tex and he was quite a guy and greatly missed, too bad he’s gone and couldn’t be here for the opening, hopefully he was watching from up above. Daughter Shannon attended and agreed that it would have meant so much to Tex.

The museum effort began 20 years ago as a vision of deceased RADM Charles D. Grojean, USN to build the largest and finest museum in the world dedicated to the Pacific War. “The museum will inform, inspire, and educate generations of Americans,” said General James T. Conway, Commandant United States Marine Corps. Freedom and liberty doesn’t come cheaply and doesn’t come without a fight was the theme running

through out the speeches.

Architect husband and wife team, Elizabeth Chu Richter and David R. Richter of Corpus Christi performed a miracle in record time. With only two years to design and build the structure it’s truly amazing that this was accomplished. Lots of thought, attention to detail, and research went into this project. In keeping with the museum’s setting, it’s a fusion of historic Hill Country architecture, military influences, and nautical touches. Hill Country limestone was selected to harmonize with the Fredericksburg’s historic buildings while galvanized steel, a quonset shaped roofline, and glass added to the military influence.

“It was a balancing act of the military references and the Hill Country historical architecture, blending the two together, an interplay if you will,” according to David. As Elizabeth explained, “There are so many underlying levels of symbolism in the structure…..even the Asian Jasmine was intentionally chosen to interpret the undulating waves.”

Grojean’s dream was realized on December 7, 2009; vets received recognition, and Fredericksburg will now be the holder of the history and story of the Pacific War. A big thank you to the vets who fought for our freedom; know that you will always be appreciated and never forgotten.